VIERA, Fla. – One of Central Florida’s fastest-growing communities finally has its first middle school.
Brevard Public Schools cut the ribbon Tuesday on the new Viera Middle School which broke ground last year.
Families in Viera have been asking for a middle school for more than 15 years as the area’s population has grown by more than 50%.
Viera was only first developed in 1989.
[EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s FREE) | PINIT! Share your photos]
Now, more than 30,000 people call it home, and that population is expected to double again in the coming decades.
School Board Member Matt Susin lives in Viera and told News 6 reporter James Sparvero that parents won’t have to send their kids beachside to go to middle school anymore.
“And as the hurricanes are coming,” Susin said, “One of the fears that a lot of people have is that as you go over two causeways, are we going to have school, worried about their children over there beachside once the big storms come up and everything else.”
Susin called the ribbon cutting “a phenomenal day for Viera.” The district hosted a tour of the school to media including in the cafeteria where teacher Annaliese Bradford said she’s excited to be part of a brand new experience.
She said the school looks beautiful and also functional for teachers.
“Everything, all the furniture, is very movable, to be flexible for whatever us teachers need or the students need,” Bradford said. “Seems like there were people that were educators that had a part in how it was built versus some people just building a building, which is really nice.”
Nine-hundred seventh and eighth graders will start school Aug. 12.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: